Jason Kendall Ray brought laughter to many people's lives during his own short life, including thousands who knew him only as the energetic mascot for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Ray, 21, was in New Jersey to perform in the NCAA men's basketball tournament in East Rutherford when he was struck by a sport utility vehicle Friday afternoon on Route 4 east in Fort Lee, near his hotel and the exit to Route 9W. He was pronounced dead at 8:38 a.m. Monday at Hackensack University Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.